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The NCAA News - News and FeaturesThe NCAA News -- October 12, 1998 Governmental affairs report Following is a report of federal activities from August 16 to September 30 affecting the NCAA membership. This report was prepared by the NCAA federal relations office. Copies of all documents, bills and correspondence in this report are available from the federal relations office, One Dupont Circle, N.W., Suite 310, Washington, D.C. 20036; telephone 202/293-3050. Gender-equity issues Virginia seeks ban on federal Title IX lawsuits. The Virginia attorney general's office has asked the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to declare part of Title IX unconstitutional. In an appeal filed late last month, the Virginia attorney general's office argues that the 11th Amendment makes state-run schools immune from a federal Title IX lawsuit. This position is based on a 1996 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Seminole Tribe v. Florida (517 U.S. 44, 59). In the Seminole case, the Supreme Court ruled that Congress cannot unilaterally declare that states can be sued in federal court. The U.S. Justice Department and other interested parties, including the National Women's Law Center, have filed briefs in support of federal Title IX protection. They argue that state-run institutions waive their 11th Amendment rights when they accept federal funds. If the Fourth Circuit rules in the state's favor, it could prevent Title IX lawsuits brought in federal court against colleges and universities in West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. NCAA to provide gender-equity data to General Accounting Office (GAO); costs of producing data will be billed to the GAO. On September 14, the NCAA federal relations office spoke with a staff member from the General Accounting Office (GAO) to inform him that the NCAA was willing to provide the GAO with data it had requested in a July 17, 1998, letter. The GAO was interested in data on NCAA member institutions dating back to academic year 1985-86. Specifically, the GAO requested the following statistical information compiled by division and sport: the number of male and female student-athletes; the number of men's and women's teams sponsored by each institution; and the average squad size for men's and women's teams. GAO intends to contrast the data from 1985-86 with the numbers from those same institutions in academic year 1997-98 (this would be a subset of the current membership). Although the NCAA has published data dating back to academic year 1985-86, GAO has requested specific data that was not reported in a comparable format. In responding to this request, the NCAA discovered that data prior to academic year 1993-94 is not available as part of the NCAA computer data bank. It appears that the data are only available in hard copy form and may be archived in Indianapolis. Retrieving the data and entering it into the data bank will be time consuming and costly but cannot be provided any other way. The NCAA agreed to hire a third party consultant to complete the task as long as GAO is willing to pay the bill for the work. GAO has asked for an estimate of the cost before committing to the agreement. The NCAA research staff is examining ways to reduce the cost to GAO but is certain that the request cannot be satisfied without some expense. The GAO inquiry of July 17 is in response to a request made to GAO by Rep. Dennis Hastert, R-Illinois. In the past, Hastert has stated that he believes the stringent enforcement of Title IX has been responsible for a dramatic decline in the number of collegiate sports opportunities for men. According to GAO, Hastert believes that current NCAA participation statistics mask the decline in men's opportunities because the participation statistics of new NCAA member institutions are added into the totals each year. NCAA figures show the participation numbers for men remain about the same as in 1985. The NCAA hopes to provide a cost estimate for retrieving the data to GAO in the next few weeks. The GAO has delayed publication of the report until next spring. OCR finds Antelope Valley College in violation of Title IX. According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has found Antelope Valley College, a two-year institution in California, in violation of Title IX. In response to an anonymous complaint, OCR conducted a three-day investigation in May and found that the institution did not "fully and effectively accommodate the interests and abilities of female students." Women constitute 60 percent of Antelope Valley's students, but only 33 percent of its intercollegiate athletes. OCR also found gender disparities in athletics facilities and employment for student-athletes. Antelope Valley is developing a gender-equity plan and is likely to add at least one new women's intercollegiate team, most likely soccer. The school also will ensure that male and female students have equal employment opportunities in the athletics department and will take steps to upgrade its women's softball facilities. National Youth Sports Program (NYSP) Senate committee appropriates $14 million in fiscal year 1999 -- $1 million below House Committee funding level. On September 3, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year 1999 Labor/Health and Human Services/Education funding bill, including $14 million for the NYSP. The amount was the same as appropriated in fiscal year 1998 and $1 million below the level provided by the House committee in July. There is hope that the Senate will "recede" to the House in conference committee allowing the NYSP to retain the higher funding amount of $15 million. Temporary funding for Labor/HHS/Education and several other appropriations bills was provided through a continuing resolution to allow funding to flow to the programs through October 9. The new fiscal year begins October 1. It is expected that numerous controversial amendments will be added to the Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations bill when it is considered on the House and Senate floors. If this occurs, the bill may not make it through the legislative process before the October 9 expiration of the continuing resolution.. In addition, the matter is complicated by unrelated provisions included in the House version of the bill (H.R. 4274). The House legislation includes controversial provisions that direct policy and reduce funding for some of the President's priorities. The White House has threatened to veto the bill if those provisions remain. As in the past, a long-term continuing resolution may be adopted to provide funding for all programs contained in appropriations bills yet to be enacted. This bill would cover the entire 1999 fiscal year. If a continuing resolution is necessary, the NYSP is likely to receive the $15 million amount included in the House bill. The House and Senate must come to an agreement before Congress adjourns October 9. Authorization bills moving forward. On September 15, the House passed legislation authorizing the NYSP for five additional years. The House-adopted legislation mirrors minor modifications passed by the Senate in July. The changes call on each NYSP site to establish a community-based advisory committee (already the practice of most programs) and to create year-round partnerships with other youth development community-service organizations to extend the benefits of the program beyond the summer months. The NYSP Fund did not oppose the modifications to the current law. House and Senate conferees will resolve differences in unrelated provisions of the legislation over the next few weeks. The legislation is expected to be signed by the President before Congress adjourns in October. Amateur Sports Act Amateur Sports Act report filed -- Senate floor action expected before adjournment. On September 15, the Senate Commerce Committee filed its report accompanying the Amateur Sports Act amendments of 1998 (S. 2119). The legislation and the report (S. Rpt. 105-325) did not include any reference to Section 206, the part that governs the relationship between the USOC and other amateur sports organizations. In addition, there were no direct references to the NCAA. Earlier in the discussion over the amendments to the Act, changes had been recommended by some groups to modify Section 206. In addition, an earlier draft of the committee report encouraged the NCAA to adopt changes in the rules that govern the practice and training times of student-athletes who participate in Olympic-related events. The NCAA had opposed both recommendations. In addition, the Senate committee passed a bill that incorporates NCAA recommendations regarding the establishment of an ombudsman, hired by the USOC, to resolve disputes between athletes and amateur sports organizations. The NCAA strongly urged the committee to revise the language to clarify that the ombudsman's role is limited to disputes over USOC, Paralympic and Pan American events. The most significant changes made by the new legislation are related to the full integration of the Paralympics into the Olympic community. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, the bill's sponsor, is poised to take the bill to the Senate floor as soon as possible. Since there is little controversy surrounding the legislation it is expected to pass unanimously without debate. Due to the lack of controversial changes, the bill is likely to be passed directly from the Senate floor to the House floor. If the House Judiciary Committee agrees for the bill to be considered by the House under suspension of the rules, a House vote can take place without the customary referral to the committee with jurisdiction over the matter. In order to be enacted this Congress, all legislation must be voted on by both the House and Senate and forwarded to the President before Congress adjourns October 9. Gambling related issues House Judiciary Subcommittee marks up Internet gambling legislation. On August 6, Rep. Bill McCollum, R-Florida, chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, introduced H.R. 4427, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act of 1998. The bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Virginia, who earlier had introduced a bill of his own on the issue, H.R. 2380. H.R. 4427 takes a different approach than the bill (S. 2260) that passed the Senate in July. It contains language that would allow states to decide whether to permit Internet gambling despite the passage of a federal prohibition against the activity. This language is troublesome to the NCAA and some of the professional sports leagues because there are several provisions that could limit the ability of state's attorneys general to enforce the prohibition. On September 11, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime met to mark up H.R. 4427. Two members of the committee voiced concerns about language contained in H.R. 4427. Rep Steve Buyer, R-Indiana, voiced reservations about the treatment of Indian gaming under the legislation. A provision of the legislation permits Indian tribes to engage in Internet gambling if it complies with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Buyer indicated that he was not completely satisfied that the amendment to the bill addresses all the Indian tribes' concerns. Also, Rep. George Gekas, R-Pennsylvania, raised an issue regarding the treatment of the horse-racing industry under the bill. Both legislators said they would vote for the legislation in subcommittee and hoped that the issues raised would be addressed before the bill is marked up by the full Judiciary Committee. H.R. 4427 was reported favorably from the subcommittee during the week of September 14. With only a few legislative days remaining before Congress adjourns, it appears that the House legislation has very little chance of making it to the House floor for a vote. The Senate-passed version of the legislation is pending in conference committee as a "rider" on the Senate Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations bill (S. 2260). However, the language may not be included in the negotiated conference committee version of S. 2260. Major differences between the House subcommittee bill and the Senate passed version of the Internet gambling legislation would make it difficult to reach an agreement in conference committee on mutually acceptable language. If Congress adjourns without enacting Internet gambling legislation, the existing bills will die and new legislation will have to be introduced when Congress returns in January 1999. Nellie Mae survey reveals 24 percent of college students have credit card debt of $3,000 or higher. The Internet gambling industry relies heavily on the use of credit cards as a payment tool for participants. The lure of Internet gambling remains particularly attractive to college students who are receiving more opportunities to obtain credit cards. A recent survey of undergraduates who applied for loans with Nellie Mae revealed that 65 percent of the students have credit cards and 20 percent have four or more cards. In addition, the percentage of students with card debt of over $3,000 was 24 percent. Higher education issues SAT math scores rise while verbal scores remain level. On September 1, the College Board announced that the average Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) math score for college-bound seniors rose from 511 to 512 this year, the highest mark in 27 years. However, the average SAT verbal score remained level at 505, just six points above the record lows posted in 1991 and 1994. College Board President Donald Stewart indicated that the results from the 1.2 million students who took the test may be attributed to the greater emphasis placed on math and science courses in the nation's high schools and to an increase in the ratio of test takers for whom English is a second language. Other notable findings:
No congressional inquiries on individual initial-eligibility cases received by NCAA federal relations office. Over the past three years, during the months of August and September, the NCAA federal relations office has received numerous calls from congressional offices regarding constituent requests related to NCAA initial-eligibility certification cases. This year, there have been no inquiries or requests for assistance from members of Congress or their staff. The federal relations office assumes that the lack of congressional inquiries may be attributed to several factors. First, more students and high schools are familiar with the process and the NCAA academic requirements. Second, recent changes aimed at students with learning disabilities, efforts to streamline the process, and providing more responsive Clearinghouse personnel may also have had an impact. Inter-Association task force on campus alcohol issues holds press conference promoting a new kind of "six-pack." Message designed to help parents warn their college-bound children about the dangers of alcohol abuse. On September 10, the Inter-Association Task Force on Alcohol and other Substance Abuse Issues held a press conference at Georgetown University. The task force is composed of 20 higher education associations, including the NCAA. The purpose of the press conference was to unveil a promotional campaign to raise awareness of alcohol and illegal drug use on campus and to help parents discuss these issues with their college-bound children. In addition, the campaign will also provide specific advice to students and college administrators. The group presented a "six-pack" -- a six-point primer with separate recommendations for what parents, college students and college officials can do to prevent the harm that alcohol abuse can cause students and the campus community. Survey shows slight drop in number of students who binge drink but cautions that binge drinking is still a concern. A Harvard University survey, entitled the College Alcohol Study, revealed a slight drop in the number of students who binge drink. The percentage dropped from 44.1 percent in 1993 to 42.7 percent in 1998. The study showed a small rise in the number of students who abstain from drinking, 19 percent, up from the 15.6 percent in 1993. The findings also noted an increase of students who frequently binge drink, 19.5 percent in 1993, to 20.7 percent in 1998. The study indicates that the number of binge drinkers is much higher in fraternities and sororities, and that Asian-American students' rate of binge drinking increased while whites' rate of binge drinking decreased. The Harvard researchers describe binge drinking as the "most serious public health hazard confronting American universities." The researchers also noted that binge drinking results in missed class time, falling behind in school, and assaults or harm to students. ("Little Drop in College Binge Drinking," The New York Times, September 11, 1998). Poll finds that college presidents place value on athletics programs. A poll conducted by John Billing, a professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, found that college presidents place a "moderately high" value on athletics at their institutions. The survey found that presidents of larger colleges placed greater value on athletics. Presidents ranked their value of athletics as being primarily due to the bond it created among students, faculty members and alumni of their institutions; fund-raising opportunities; the sports teams' contribution to the schools' reputations, and the impact on the number of applications for admission. ("College Presidents Value Sports for Entertaining Donors and Politicians, Survey Finds," The Chronicle of Higher Education, September 16, 1998) Department Of Education's Office of Family Policy Compliance indicates that it will respond to the NCAA's FERPA request before the end of the year. The Department of Education's Office of Family Policy Compliance informed the NCAA federal relations office that a response to an NCAA request regarding the Family Education Records Privacy Act (FERPA) would be received before the end of the calendar year. As a third party recipient of student records, the FERPA law applies to the NCAA. Questions drafted by the NCAA were presented to the FERPA office in an in-person meeting in February 1997. The purpose of the questions was to clarify ambiguities in the law related to what is considered an educational record and whether the law provides flexibility for the NCAA to comment on the validity of information reported in the press. The Office of Family Policy Compliance indicated that it was monitoring the Smith v. NCAA lawsuit, which found the NCAA to be a recipient of federal funds. The office indicated that if a final determination is made that the NCAA is a recipient of federal funds, it would impact the way FERPA applies to the NCAA. The office indicated that it would not wait for the court's final decision before providing the responses to the 1997 questions posed by the NCAA. However, if the court determines the NCAA is recipient of federal funds, the responses to the questions would have to be re-examined. House and Senate reach agreement on Higher Education Act conference. In late September, the House and Senate adopted the Conference agreement for the Higher Education Act amendments of 1998 (Conference report 105-750). Included in the agreed-upon legislation are NCAA recommendations to make minor technical changes in the Student Right-to-Know Act, Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act and athletics revenues and expenses reporting. The NCAA proposals were designed to streamline the reporting process for NCAA member institutions and make the information more readily available to consumers. Other provisions of the agreed-upon legislation include:
The President is expected to sign the agreement. Satellite royalty fees Senator requests General Accounting Office study on impact of sports programming on cable television rates. On September 2, the NCAA federal relations office met with two representatives from the General Accounting Office (GAO). GAO indicated that they received a request from Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-North Dakota, to report on what impact sports programming costs have on existing cable rates. Dorgan, a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, is likely concerned about the continued rise in cable rates and believes that sports programming costs may be the prime culprit. Dorgan's suspicions may have been fueled by recent lucrative broadcast and cable television deals negotiated by the NFL and NHL. GAO is not a political arm of Congress and will conduct a fair and objective study. The report is expected to be completed in the spring of 1999 prior to the expiration of the FCC's regulatory control over the cable industry. Senate considers another legislative approach to address satellite compulsory license fee increase. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Mississippi, concerned about jurisdictional squabbles between chairmen of the Senate Commerce and Judiciary Committees over satellite issues, has brokered an apparent compromise between the two legislators. As a result of a meeting with Lott, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Arizona, and Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, have drafted a bill that, in part, addresses the new satellite compulsory license fee paid by satellite carriers for the retransmission of distant signals. In July, Hatch was successful in adding an amendment to the Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations bill (S. 2260) that places a temporary freeze on the implementation of the new satellite compulsory license fee adopted by the Copyright Office last year. The Copyright Office approved an arbitration panel's decision that rates paid by satellite carriers be raised to 27 cents for the retransmission of network and superstation signals. The NCAA, as a member of the Joint Sports Claimants, receives a portion of these fees paid by the satellite carriers. Under the proposed legislation being floated by McCain and Hatch, the legislation would lower satellite carriers' compulsory license fee from 27 cents to about 19 cents per subscriber per month for network signals and to 15 cents for superstation signals. The bill would also extend the satellite compulsory license through December 31, 2002. It is not clear whether the copyright owners favor the latest approach. In addition, several other alternatives are also being floated in the Senate and there is no clear indication what course will be taken. The best scenario is that all legislative efforts to address the satellite compulsory license rate are unsuccessful and that Congress adjourns leaving the 27 cent rate in effect. This result would ensure that copyright owners receive a significant increase in payments from the satellite royalty pool.
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